Barack Obama made history last night, becoming the first African-American, and the first person born in Hawai'i, elected president of the United States.

Hawai'i voters, in a show of local pride, gave the Punahou School graduate his largest victory margin of any state in the nation. Obama led U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, 71 percent to 26 percent in the Islands with most of the votes counted. The District of Columbia, which has a predominantly African-American population, went for Obama 93 percent to 7 percent.

In a speech to an exhilarated crowd at Grant Park in Chicago, the Illinois senator described his victory as a historic moment and a message to the world that Americans could overcome racial and political differences and unite for change.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy," Obama said. "Tonight is your answer."

Obama celebrated his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Sasha and Malia, and said he missed his late grandmother.

Sadly, his deepest emotional connection to the Islands — his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham — did not live to see him elected. Dunham, who died Monday of cancer, had voted for her grandson by absentee mail ballot.

"And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am," Obama said. "I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure."

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama's sister and a history teacher at La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls, watched election returns with her husband, Konrad Ng, and daughter, Suhaila, at her grandmother's Beretania Street apartment.

Soetoro-Ng, in a statement read by Andy Winer, Obama's state director, at a victory party at Pearl Ultralounge, acknowledged the love and dedication the people of Hawai'i had shown the Obama family.

"Although Barack is not here to celebrate with all of you, he is also here with you tonight in spirit," Soetoro-Ng said.

McCain, in his concession speech in Phoenix, recognized Obama's achievement and the influence of his grandmother on his life.

"Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country," McCain said. "I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise."

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, knew Obama's mother and father — the late Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. — at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. The congressman said he told Obama in a telephone message that his parents and grandmother would be proud.

"His mom and dad, and now his grandmother, has joined his grandfather, but their spirit was all here and with him," Abercrombie said. "And, of course, we were with him."

HEAVY FAVORITE

The Democratic candidate for president was always going to be favored in Hawai'i, a traditionally blue state. Republicans have only won the state twice — Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.

McCain, whose father led the U.S. Pacific Command between 1968 and 1972 and who met his second wife, Cindy, in the Islands, would likely have done better if not for Obama's local ties. McCain's record of bipartisanship would likely have appealed to more independents, while his military sacrifice as a prisoner of war in Vietnam gave him a base in the state's large military community.

Gov. Linda Linda, who campaigned for McCain on the Mainland, said that while she had never met or spoken with Obama, she does not expect that her support for his opponent would hurt the state.

"I expect from Hawai'i's point of view, it was a no-lose situation for us because Sen. Obama is not going to punish the people of Hawai'i because I supported Sen. McCain," the Republican governor said.

Obama's popularity in Hawai'i exceeded the expectations of local Democrats who had hoped to use him to bring new life to the majority party. A record 37,000 Democrats turned out for the party's caucuses in February, including thousands of young people. Obama raised more than $2.7 million in the Islands, also thought to be a record for a presidential campaign.

Obama's victory means more for Hawai'i than local pride in a native son. The president, for the first time, will have a personal understanding of the Islands, its Native Hawaiian culture, and its unique economic and geographic challenges.

Obama is on record in support of a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill and Honolulu's mass-transit project.

"We now have a leader of the party across the country who knows Hawai'i, from growing up here, being educated here, somebody who is going to, I think, provide the kind of national leadership that is going to end up helping Hawai'i as a state," Winer said.

NEVADA CONNECTIONS

The local Obama campaign also took some satisfaction in Obama's victory in Nevada, which went for President Bush in 2000 and 2004. Local Obama volunteers had been calling Nevada voters for several weeks to reach out to the many Hawai'i transplants and Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders who live there.

"I know that we actually did help make a difference there," Winer said.

Voters interviewed yesterday said they also felt they were part of history.

Gisele Mickens of Waikiki said she voted for Obama because of healthcare issues and his persona. "He's refined," Mickens said. "I'd be proud to have him represent us internationally. I think people will listen to him and follow him."

Sasha Zaytseva, who moved to Hawai'i 12 years ago from Russia, voted for the first time. "It's history making," she said. "I came for Obama."

Ben and Jasmin Flora, who brought their grandchild to Farrington High School, said they voted for McCain mostly because he is more experienced.

"I'm old fashioned," said Ben Flora, a military veteran. "McCain has more experience and he went through a lot (as a prisoner of war in Vietnam)."

Clarita Soriano said she and her husband, Virgillo, were voting for Obama because of his diversity. "He is white and black," Clarita Soriano said. "That is good for everybody."